to me, it is. i know it’s kind of cliche’ i’m writing on my own topic, but i think i should say what’s on my mind, as a star wars fan. i believe it is because if they released officially, that would be great, don’t get me wrong. sure, that really would be great, for all of us. hours before it’s in stores, we would be camping in front of the stores, making bonfires, using the special editions as fuel. but that’s just why this is more important. it brings us together. if it was officially, they would remaster it, and it would be a holiday in my personal calender. but what makes the despecialized editions more important is that to harmy and friends, this wouldn’t be work. this is just a fun thing for them. but what may be more important is they are people like you and me who’s motivation is each other and their pure love for star wars. they care for what we and they want…a high definition star wars. and if that is what is going to happen, so be it. besides, even if they don’t want the money, at least we have something to remind us of what it was and should be forever. and besides, just to know these are ordinary people brought together to do something not for fame and fortune, but there love for something is great. it sure gets my approval

Of course it’s more important. The best official release is (arguably) the GOUT. In spite of twenty years of fruitless rumors to the contrary, this is unlikely to change within our lifetimes.

Despecialized preserves the original films better than the GOUT did, therefore it’s more important than the GOUT. Despecialized is also not a figment of our imagination, therefore it’s more important than the Disney release rumor of the week.

Well Disney would have access to the actual source material and better equipment, meaning that if done right, a restoration of the originals by them would easily trump anything Harmy or any other fans could do. Also there’s the fact that the Despecialized edition is, at the end of the day, nothing but an impressive fan-edit that only dedicated SW fans would even care enough to seek out in the first place. An official release would clearly give the originals more exposure. So no, I do not think Harmy’s work, as great as it is, is more important than an official re-release of the theatrical cuts.

Mind you, with all the different editions of Star Wars that are available now, I feel that the only way to truly satisfy everyone would be to remaster and release all of them with the same amount of care. I mean, I’m still pining for a high quality version of the 97 Jedi ending scene…

Of course it’s more important. The best official release is (arguably) the GOUT. In spite of twenty years of fruitless rumors to the contrary, this is unlikely to change within our lifetimes.

Unless you have terminal cancer and are going to be dead within the next year or two, I’d take that bet.

And BTW I think the Japanese laserdiscs from the 80s look better than the GOUT. They’re noisier, but the colors are better and the detail wasn’t scrubbed out, nor are there any motion smearing artifacts. Because the GOUT is digital, slightly higher resolution, and cleaner, it makes for a better source for something like Despecialized. But if I could only choose an official release of the OUT to watch, I’d go with the Japanese laserdiscs instead. Sad how literally the first ever widescreen home video release of the trilogy remains the best official release to this day.

Lord Starfish said:
Mind you, with all the different editions of Star Wars that are available now, I feel that the only way to truly satisfy everyone would be to remaster and release all of them with the same amount of care. I mean, I’m still pining for a high quality version of the 97 Jedi ending scene…

I think the original trilogy deserves one more final truly ultimate edition Blu-ray box that includes every cut that has been released, in addition to maybe a new “semi-specialized” edit that includes only the subtle technical fixes and clean up rather than major content changes like Greedo shooting or bullshit like Jedi Rocks. Even better would be some kind of branching option where you could pick and choose parts from each cut you want to watch. I’m not sure how technically feasible that is, but you might be able to squeeze it all on a Blu-ray disc if you have each title share all scenes except those which are changed. The way I would do it is just put the original cuts (with selectable crawl for ANH) on disc 1, maybe along with some special features like vintage documentaries to fill out the disc, and then put a branching special edition on disc 2 where you could toggle the major alterations from each subsequent version on and off or just choose from the 97, 2004, and 2011 cuts. A 6 disc box with that would be amazing and the perfect send-off to the original trilogy on physical media. Because, let’s face it, Blu-ray is almost certainly the last ever physical home video format. Might as well throw it on 4K Blu-ray discs for good measure and future proofing (assuming they’re working from a fresh 4K scan - which they should). If they did all that, they would satisfy everybody and frankly I think that is the only way they could at this point.

In all seriousness though I hope we see the OUT in BD/4K combo if it does get a release in the next couple years. I don’t have 4K now but some day I might and I’d like to have it on physical media. Because ultra hd blu ray almost certainly will be the last physical home media format. And with bandwidth getting wider and wider who actually knows how long it’ll be around.

let’s face it, Blu-ray is almost certainly the last ever physical home video format.

Might as well throw it on 4K Blu-ray discs for good measure and future proofing

So, uh, which is it?

How is this a contradiction? I mean that there will likely never be another physical home video format, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have 4K downloads and streaming. So might as well put the final physical release in the highest resolution currently practical. (That will likely stay that way for a long time.)

Of course it’s more important. The best official release is (arguably) the GOUT. In spite of twenty years of fruitless rumors to the contrary, this is unlikely to change within our lifetimes.

Unless you have terminal cancer and are going to be dead within the next year or two, I’d take that bet.

Since a two year deadline is just taking advantage of your optimism, let’s stretch that out to ten years to at least add some interest. If originaltrilogy.com's still around then (June 9th, 2026 – mark your calendars!), I promise not to say I told you so more than a couple times. And if I lose, well, I’ll be too happy to care. Unless they re-re-release the THX Laserdisc masters on 4K Blu-ray, or release a new Disney “slightly less Special Edition” where Han shoots first but the dionaga still blinks, which I’m hoping everyone agrees wouldn’t count as new OOT releases, the former not really being “new” and the latter not really being the OOT.

Regarding GOUT quality, that’s why I wrote arguably. While many would say it is the best just going off resolution, because color can be corrected, JSC is clearly another contender for the title because DVNR smearing can’t.

I can answer almost all questions anyone might have about the Sith from Star Wars Legends, and please do PM me for the bd25 DEED(Despecalised Editions), as I have this version, though I can’t answer technical questions about them. Auntie Derry/Rumpelstiltskin.
Do not go gentle into that good night, Though wise men at their end know dark is right, They
Do not go gentle into that good night. “Stay Phrosty” - Lemar Kentell, my other half. Feel the love.

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